Heaven's Hallelujah
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1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Introduction
Introduction
We have arrived at an exciting portion of the Bible. After the dark, dreary passages we have been enduring these verses gleam with the glory of Heaven. We are going to talk about a wedding today. Not just any wedding, but the marriage super of the Lamb. This wedding will be a time of great joy for all the redeemed people of God!
You see, for the church, the end times shape up like this: In the Rapture, we will be Caught Up; at the Judgment Seat of Christ, we will be Cleaned Up; and at the marriage supper of the Lamb, we will be Cheered Up!
This is the great Hallelujah Chapter of the Bible. There is great rejoicing over what God has done and is going to do in the world. The chapter begins with gratitude for God.
The chapter begins with the phrase in verse 1 “and after these things.”
This phrase introduces a new section in the book. What things is John referring to? John is referring to the events in the previous chapter which involve the destruction of Babylon.
He hears a “great voice” which is a roar coming from a great multitude of people in Heaven.
Two words describe their great joy: Allelujah and Amen...
These two words are the same in every language.
You may be surprised at the fact that this is the first time the word “Alleluia” or “Hallelujah” appears in the NT. It shows up only in the book of Revelation.
– “Hallelujah” is a compound word – a verb and noun squeezed together. The verb, “Hallelu,” is an imperative form of the verb “praise”. The “yah” ending, to make the word, “Hallelu-yah,” is the shortened form of Yahweh, the covenant name of God. “Hallelujah” then, means, “praise the Lord”.
– “Amen” is a word of agreement with the Word of God. When “amen” is used at the beginning of a sentence, it means “truly.” When used at the end, it means “so let it be” or “I agree.” Amen is the most known word in the world.
What is the reason this multitude will be praising God? The answer is the salvation of the Lord.
God’s salvation should awaken the gratitude of men. In the sequel of Revelation, Christ is about to come back with His Church to the earth.
The white horses are being saddled and the heavens are about to open.
The King of kings is about to return to earth with His bride to destroy the armies of the Anti-Christ at a place called Armageddon and then set up His glorious kingdom for 1000 years.
The swords of men will soon be beaten into plowshares and the lamb and lion will lie down together.
This is why there is great rejoicing in Heaven!
I-Hallelujah For Salvation
I-Hallelujah For Salvation
1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
• Salvation: the multitudes in heaven have been saved by the grace of God, cleansed from their sins by the blood of Jesus Christ, been redeemed by the Lamb, given eternal life in heaven, and they praise God for their salvation!
• There ought to be more praise of God on earth in the church because those who are saved always have something to praise God for! If we are truly saved by the Lord Jesus Christ we will have heaven’s hallelujah in our hearts and that will be heard from our lips!
• Glory and Honor: the multitudes in heaven give glory and honor to the Lord—they brag on Jesus! They praise His name! When heaven’s hallelujah is in the church we will give glory to God and honor to God!
• Let us not rob God of the glory and honor due to Him alone!
• Power: the great multitude recognizes that all power belong to the Lord our God! He is omnipotent!
• He is not lacking in power—He does not grow weary—He neither faints nor slumbers—He is God almighty!
We are to worship Him and praise Him because of Who He is and what He has done and what He is going to do!
II-Hallelujah For Judgment
II-Hallelujah For Judgment
2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
Heaven also rejoices because God’s judgment is righteous, not corrupt. It is true, not based on falsehood. Heaven rejoices because the influence of Satan is about to be severely curtailed in the destruction of the Babylonian system of government and religion. Those who were persecuted and oppressed will rejoice because God takes vengeance upon the enemies of God and His people.
In Revelation 18, Babylon’s friends mourned her fall; but here, God’s people celebrate it.
III-Hallelujah For Christ’s Reign
III-Hallelujah For Christ’s Reign
6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
There seems to be a climax of praise here as they praise the Lord for His reign!
God is on His throne. He is victorious. He now occupies the throne without competition, or rebellion. He is seen for what He is – the sovereign King of the universe!
Thank God, there is coming a day when the Lord will have the glory and honor He deserves all the time. I look forward to being in that number when we stand around the throne and lift our “Hallelujahs” to the glory of God!
IV-Hallelujah For The Marriage
IV-Hallelujah For The Marriage
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Somewhere after the destruction of Babylon and the Second Coming of Christ, there will be the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
This makes a lot more sense when you consider what a wedding would have been like in New Testament culture...
1) The groom came to the bride’s house and paid a dowry to the father and then went to prepare a home for her.
2) The groom came back to get his bride.
3) The bride has been preparing her wedding attire.
4) The marriage feast was the festival of many days which culminated in the consummation of the bride and groom.
Did you hear any comparisons for what Jesus has done for us?
1) Jesus Christ paid the redemptive dowry for His bride at Calvary and is presently living in His Father’s home, while His bride remains on earth. He is preparing a place for His bride.
2) His bride has been clothed in fine linen, clean and white – representing the righteousness of Christ in her. She is to be making herself ready.
3) Jesus Christ will officially come for His bride at the Rapture.
4) Jesus Christ will take His bride to His Father’s house where there will be a time of fellowship and feasting.
5) Jesus Christ is now going to consummate the relationship by bringing His bride back to earth to reign with Him.
This is the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Notice, verse 9 tells us there will be guests at the supper! Who will it be? It’ll be the Old Testament saints and the Tribulation saints…Just think of it. Christ is the groom, the Church is His bride, and all Jews and Gentiles who were saved before Pentecost and after the Rapture will be in assembly!
Conclusion
Conclusion
In closing tonight, notice something interesting in verse 10.
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
John is overwhelmed and mistakenly falls down and worships the angel that is showing him all this.
He is rebuked. Why? Look at the end of verse 10 – “for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”– At most weddings, it’s “Here comes the bride!” But at this wedding, all the attention is on Jesus. – This should cause us to realize how easy our hearts can turn to idolatry.
John is about to make the messenger of truth into an object of worship.
The angel says that he is just a fellow servant. We must always remember the greatest people on earth are no more than God’s servants.
The true spirit of prophecy always shows itself in bearing witness to Jesus...
Henry Morris wrote, “To worship, in the Bible, means to bow down to the will of God, acknowledging that what He says is true and what He does is right. Many and long had been the years when it seemed that God didn’t care about the sufferings of His people nor about the blasphemies of Babylon, and many had even claimed that God was dead. How often has a discouraged believer, pressed hard by bitter circumstances and unable to see the way out, cried out to God in tears, seeking to understand the mysteries of His will and the reasons for His seeming silence. Such a time is designed for true worship, bowing down in obedient faith, even when the way is dark and the reason fails. The will of God may be difficult, but the will of God is best, and one day God’s will is to be fully manifest in all its perfect wisdom. Finally, when God’s gracious long-suffering has run its full course, Babylon will vanish, all prayers will be answered and His kingdom will come. And in that glad day, with tears of joy and songs of praise, will every last saint in heaven worship God.”